Bower 24mm f/1.4 Wide-Angle Review

The Olympus Bower 24mm f/1.4 is a weird, heavy, and oddly specific lens. It's a fast, sharp prime that feels like it was designed for a different era of photography. The one thing you need to know is this: it's a specialist's tool for low-light and shallow depth-of-field on Four Thirds, and it makes zero compromises to be anything else.

The optical performance surprised me, in a good way. Scoring in the 83rd percentile, the image quality is sharp and the bokeh, at the 86th percentile, is creamy and pleasing for a wide-angle. The f/1.4 aperture is its party trick, letting in a ton of light. But the autofocus, sitting in the 47th percentile, feels sluggish and hunts more than you'd want, especially in low light where this lens should shine.

At $549, it's a tough sell. You're paying a premium for that f/1.4 aperture and optical quality, but you're also stuck with mediocre autofocus and no stabilization. If your primary goal is image quality above all else, it's worth it. If you need a well-rounded, modern lens, it's not.

Look at the Viltrox 35mm f/1.7 or the Meike 55mm f/1.8. Both are cheaper, lighter, have faster autofocus, and while they might not match the pure optical performance of the Bower, they're far more versatile for everyday use. The Bower wins on pure speed and bokeh, but loses badly on portability and focus speed. For travel or run-and-gun shooting, the competitors are the better choice.

I can only recommend this lens to a very specific photographer: a Four Thirds shooter who lives in low-light conditions, doesn't need fast autofocus, and prioritizes optical perfection over everything else, including their camera bag's weight. For everyone else, a lighter, cheaper, and more modern lens from Viltrox or Meike will be a better fit.